Question about Demon's Souls

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've been saving two of the boss souls, Hard Demon's Soul and Wriggling Demon's Soul. I don't know what I should spend them on. Hard Demon's Soul can get me either the Lava Bow or the spells Fire Spray or Ignite; Wriggling Demon's Soul either gets you the spell Poison Cloud or the miracle Cure. Personally I'm leaning towards Lava Bow & Cure, but I'm having a hard time deciding. Any suggestions, tips, advice coming from personal experience?

For a bit of reference my character's a Soul Level 52 Wanderer. Vitality, Endurance and Strength are 20, Dex is 18 and everything else is 16 or lower. I've got 2 slots for spells and 1 for miracles, Faith & Magic aren't my strongest suit though I spam Soul Arrow and the fiery version a LOT.

Thanks!

 

[ShinyCharizard]

I'd say go with the Lava Bow. It does good damage and remains useful throughout the whole game. Poison Cloud is pretty useless except for cheap kills against a few certain enemies, and you won't ever really need it.

So yeah Cure and Lava Bow are good choices.

I'd recommend investing in faith a bit though. You can get some insanely useful miracles.

 

[sanquin]

Poison cloud always felt more like a pvp spell to me. That, when successful, can give you quite a favour in your odds. If you don't pvp a lot though, better go with the cure.

 

[stroopwafel]

I just completed a Demon's Souls replay yesterday. Also used the Wanderer class. Fire Spray can come in pretty handy against the Maneaters if you haven't beaten them yet, as they are rather tricky to beat with melee. I don't know where you are in the game but I would defeat False Idol first in Tower of Latria(don't forget to save Freke) to obtain her soul and gain Soulray from Freke(basically a more powerful version of arrow). Also you can go to first level of Shrine of Storms to obtain Crescent Falchion +1, which is particularly powerful against 'lesser' enemies so you won't waste all your spices(If memory serves correctly its behind the Black Katana Skeleton next to the Skeleton archers).

Then return to Stonefang to clear Flamelurker and Dragon God. Flamelurker is another tricky boss but much easier with Soulray and Water Veil. Then defeat Dragon God which is rather simple if you figure it out. Free Yuria from the Fat Official(easy to miss so look it up on a walkthrough) but she has a lot of powerful spells. Use the soul of Dragon God to obtain Firestorm from Yuria wich is a particularly devastating spell. Then I'd return to Latria to defeat Maneaters(if you couldn't before) and Old Monk. Use Old Monk's soul to get Homing Soul Arrow. Another powerful spell that makes (boss) fights much easier, espescially when equipped with the Ring of Magical Sharpness. I would put most of your souls into Magic from now on. Good luck!

As a side note I though Allant was a much cooler end-boss than Gwyn. He was just much more menacing than that old hobo. Hopefully Dark Souls 2 will have a similairly awesome final boss, but the talk of a 'fallen king' gives me hope.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I just completed a Demon's Souls replay yesterday. Also used the Wanderer class. Fire Spray can come in pretty handy against the Maneaters if you haven't beaten them yet, as they are rather tricky to beat with melee. I don't know where you are in the game but I would defeat False Idol first in Tower of Latria(don't forget to save Freke) to obtain her soul and gain Soulray from Freke(basically a more powerful version of arrow). Also you can go to first level of Shrine of Storms to obtain Crescent Falchion +1, which is particularly powerful against 'lesser' enemies so you won't waste all your spices(If memory serves correctly its behind the Black Katana Skeleton next to the Skeleton archers).

I do have the C Falchion +1 though I completely forgot about Freke. I remember taking the key and trying to find a way to reach his cell but couldn't find any so moved on to something completely different.

Then return to Stonefang to clear Flamelurker and Dragon God. Flamelurker is another tricky boss but much easier with Soulray and Water Veil. Then defeat Dragon God which is rather simple if you figure it out. Free Yuria from the Fat Official(easy to miss so look it up on a walkthrough) but she has a lot of powerful spells. Use the soul of Dragon God to obtain Firestorm from Yuria wich is a particularly devastating spell. Then I'd return to Latria to defeat Maneaters(if you couldn't before) and Old Monk. Use Old Monk's soul to get Homing Soul Arrow. Another powerful spell that makes (boss) fights much easier, espescially when equipped with the Ring of Magical Sharpness. I would put most of your souls into Magic from now on. Good luck!

I exploited a glitch in Flamelurker's fight (he gets stuck running against a boulder), didn't make it to Dragon God yet. When you say Maneaters do you mean the Latria gargoyles or is that an enemy I haven't faced yet?

 

[stroopwafel]

I do have the C Falchion +1 though I completely forgot about Freke. I remember taking the key and trying to find a way to reach his cell but couldn't find any so moved on to something completely different.

Latria is a maze but I'd definitely backtrack to free Freke, as he has a lot of good spells on offer. Primarily Soulray which is kind of a must against (earlier) bosses/enemies that are quite dangerous up close and personal.

I exploited a glitch in Flamelurker's fight (he gets stuck running against a boulder), didn't make it to Dragon God yet. When you say Maneaters do you mean the Latria gargoyles or is that an enemy I haven't faced yet?

Yeah indeed, the two gargoyles on that ledge(if you also mean the bosses and not the 'regular' gargoyles which are quite weak). I found them difficult to fight with melee primarily b/c you're on a small ledge and it's easy to fall off when you dodge roll. Also their attacks hit pretty hard. And if one of them wasn't bad enough... Soulray, Firespray or(espescially) Firestorm makes the fight much easier.

Next time don't fight Flamelurker using the glitch! That is seriously one of the most intense fights of the Souls series.

 

[King of Asgaard]

OK, so, this is my perspective based on hundreds of hours researching, playing and watching Demon's Souls.
First, some facts.

The Lava Bow will serve you well throughout the whole game. It's arguably superior to the White Bow, for its relatively low stat requirement and hidden fire damage bonus. It can seriously wreck most things at range.

Fire Spray is decent, but it works best in a dedicated glass cannon-hyper mode mage build, otherwise the damage output is rather lacklustre.

Ignite I don't recall ever using, so that should speak volumes to how good it is. I think it works similarly to the way Combustion and its ilk work in Dark Souls, but it's so rarely used I can't vouch for its effectiveness.

Poison Cloud is mainly a PvP spell, and thus, rarely finds a use in PvE. However, it is one way of cheesing an optional boss, which nets you the best male light armour, a sweet stamina regenerating ring, and a pretty good sword which can be used to craft one of the best swords in the game.

Cure is useless. Plain and simple. In all my playthroughs, I never even thought of choosing it, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it takes up a valuable Miracle slot which can be used by a myriad other more useful miracles. Secondly, it removes status ailments, a role filled more effectively by consumables.

I'd like to point out that both boss souls can be consumed for more spendable souls, thereby making you stronger overall.

With all of this said, my advice would be to get the Lava Bow, and eat the Wriggling soul for EXP. If you really want Poison Cloud/Cure for whatever reason, go for PC, because it can at least see occasional use.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I suggest the Lava Bow, if you intend to actually use it. If I remember correctly, it's one of the strongest low-Dex bows in the game. If not the strongest. As for the Wriggling Demon's Soul, I always just eat it for souls. No real advice for that, I'm afraid.

 

[Lawnmooer]

Lava Bow is pretty good, it's quite strong and doesn't require a lot of Dexterity or farming for Spiderstone. The main drawbacks of it are: It needs the boss soul, it doesn't scale well if going for high Dexterity anyway and it causes a slight knockback on hits which can interfere with "Cheesing" certain encounters by pushing them out of range.

The spells, I don't recall being too good - Fire Spray does mediocre damage for the most part. Ignite can be pretty strong but as a melee range spell I tend to favour using melee weapons in those scenarios... Ignite also uses 2 spell slots... Meaning you give up some ranged spells for it.

As far as Souls vs Poison Cloud vs Cure goes, Cure can be insanely helpful in the Valley of Defilement but is significantly less useful outside of that or if you get consumables to remove ailments (Also, stuff like Heal or Second Chance can be much more valuable)

Poison Cloud is decent PvP ability, allowing you to zone people out. I find its best use it cheesing your way through several NPC kills, giving you easy access to strong equipment as well as a lot of souls easily allowing you to get the 6.4k souls you'd obtain from eating it and more (Old King Doran gives like 20k as well as some very effective Male armour and a really good Stamina regen ring)

 

[SmallHatLogan]

Cure is a waste of a miracle spot. You can just rely on delicious healing grasses to do that job for you (status healing grasses aren't overly plentiful but I never found myself running out of them either).

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Well I think I definitely like the idea of the Lava Bow but now I'm a little unsure about what to do with the Wriggling Demon's Soul. I've only done the first section of the Valley of Defilement but so far status ailments aren't an issue with me and I have tons of herbs just in case. So Cure seems like a waste of space. Poison Cloud sounds more useful but I don't really do PvP and anyway my miracle slots are few and precious. I'm leaning towards just cashing in for souls but the prospect seems almost wasteful...

 

[Ishal]

Well I think I definitely like the idea of the Lava Bow but now I'm a little unsure about what to do with the Wriggling Demon's Soul. I've only done the first section of the Valley of Defilement but so far status ailments aren't an issue with me and I have tons of herbs just in case. So Cure seems like a waste of space. Poison Cloud sounds more useful but I don't really do PvP and anyway my miracle slots are few and precious. I'm leaning towards just cashing in for souls but the prospect seems almost wasteful...

Cashing for souls might be the best option if you don't feel like going for the bow, especially if you have a weapon you want to stick with to the end of the game. It'd be best to upgrade that on a path you feel comfortable with.

Sounds like you have a firm grasp on the mechanics. Flamelurker and Maneaters are the most challenging fights I experienced in Demon's Souls. Once you get to the final area of Latria try being in human/body form. It has a neat effect on the boss. It's one of the more unique aspects of the game.

 

[Ishal]

Well I think I definitely like the idea of the Lava Bow but now I'm a little unsure about what to do with the Wriggling Demon's Soul. I've only done the first section of the Valley of Defilement but so far status ailments aren't an issue with me and I have tons of herbs just in case. So Cure seems like a waste of space. Poison Cloud sounds more useful but I don't really do PvP and anyway my miracle slots are few and precious. I'm leaning towards just cashing in for souls but the prospect seems almost wasteful...

Cashing for souls might be the best option if you don't feel like going for the bow, especially if you have a weapon you want to stick with to the end of the game. It'd be best to upgrade that on a path you feel comfortable with.

Sounds like you have a firm grasp on the mechanics. Flamelurker and Maneaters are the most challenging fights I experienced in Demon's Souls. Once you get to the final area of Latria try being in human/body form. It has a neat effect on the boss. It's one of the more unique aspects of the game.

You found Maneaters harder than False King? They were tough, but False King is the one fight I always dread when playing that game.

Spoilers dude!

The king is tough, no doubt about that. I did a challenge kill with him recently with only the baby's nail. Jesus that was frustrating. He has that one move that he does so quickly. It's the quick side slash that he does't telegraph at all. If he follows that up with soul-suck it freaking terrifies me. Thing with him though is you have to be good with your dodges and you absolutely CANNOT be greedy with your attacks. That one last swing you think you can get it is what kills you. It's that stuff that Demon's Souls and Dark Souls really punish you for.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

That one last swing you think you can get it is what kills you. It's that stuff that Demon's Souls and Dark Souls really punish you for.

Absolutely. The game/s may be famous for difficulty but in truth most of the suck comes from recklessness and not being cautious enough. People get too comfy with pause menus and checkpoints and autosaving and auto-healing and brief invincibility windows and the camera pointing out danger and all the little things we take for granted in every AAA game we boot. Take all those little things away and we're back to Nintendo Hard just like that.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

AND NEVER CONSUME BOSS SOULS FOR XP.
I can't stress that enough. You can farm XP in 4-2 so easily, I don't know why you'd waste a perfectly good boss soul like that.

So my recommendations to you are the bow and poison.

Frankly I'm already reluctant to use regular soldier/hero souls since it seems I can always just as well farm some for a while (I do 4-1 though) and save the soul items for later. I got the bow earlier tonight and I think I'm going to go with Poison Cloud. In any case I have to level up like crazy again so I can balance out on Intelligence/Faith so I can gain new spell/miracle slots so I can make any use of this to begin with. I'm a little sorry I picked Wanderer, it's a cool concept but kind of a bland class with no real strength, or none I've found useful anyway.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

Spoiler: Details for 4-2 farming

A Bow and arrows are required.

1 - Enter from Adjuticator's room. Head out and down to the hallway below.
2 - You can buy cheap arrows here if you are low. You'll need them.
3 - Enter the room with the first reaper. Kill the Shadowlurker on the right (melee is okay - resistant to magic).
4 - If the one on the left path is close, kill it too. If it is far, ignore it.
5 - Head back to the center/edge of the platform (door that you came in from should be behind you) and look down with a bow equipped.
6 - Aim and fire at the reaper. Kill it, and collect thousands of souls from it and the now dead shadowlurkers.
7 - Exit the stage from the Adjuticator's room.
8 - Rinse and repeat

*Bonus, shoot a manta if you are fast and good enough between step 1 and 2 for more souls.

**Bonus 2, head through the reaper's room, up the stairs (left of reaper spawn point) and into the secret passage with the Dual Wield Black Skeleton. Farm it in order to get the elusive Pure Bladestone (Darker World tendency recommended). Took me 7 hours of farming to get that notoriously difficult to obtain item at Pure Black WT.

A quicker way is to just take the right path, run past the enemy, drop down and smack the reaper in his big ugly face. Maybe a bit riskier but once you get a rhythm going it's all good.

And don't even get me started on bladestone. I had a hard enough time just getting chunks let alone a pure one (in fact I don't think I ever got a pure one, I ended up giving up in disgust).